Young Australians Have Little Or No Idea About How Food Gets To Them From Farms

Most city teenagers don’t really know where their food comes from, according to a study.

The research commissioned by agricultural banking specialist Rabobank shows 77% of those surveyed know “a little” or “nothing at all” about farming and food production.

It also found:

17% have never been on a farm. Overall two-thirds visited a farm less than three times in their life.

68% don’t know, or know only a little, about how food gets from farm to plate.

More than 90%, however, see farming and food production as very important to Australia.

The study, conducted by House of Brand for Rabobank, surveyed 600 students aged 15 to 18, from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Rabobank Australia and New Zealand head of Sustainable Business Development Marc Oostdijk says the research showed a concerning knowledge gap among Australian youth when it comes to agriculture and food production.

Mr Oostdijk says while there was generally low awareness of the food production process among the teenagers, it was more acute once produce and ingredients had left the farm.

“When it comes to what happens to the ingredients and produce once they leave the farm, 28 per cent of respondents says they know nothing about this and 47 per cent says they only know ‘a little bit’,” he says.

However, 60% believed farming was “extremely important” to Australia and 39% says the impact would be “significant” if there was no farming in Australia.